Chapter 9 Computer File Formats

Transcription

1 IN THIS CHAPTER: Testing Process Contribution (SDR) File Layout»» Contribution File Header»» Plan Summary Record»» Detail Transactions»» Reporting an Adjustment Contribution Edits Demographic File Layout Exclusion Report File»» Excel Format»» Text File Format Over 800 employers use PERA s online Employer Reporting and Information System (ERIS) to send computer files to PERA for processing. PERA has the following computer file formats. 1. The Contribution file (also called the SDR file) provides the pay period salary and contribution data for electronic submission of the Salary Deduction Report (SDR). The file includes three types of records: the header, plan summary, and detail member transactions. As a general rule, the Contribution data file must be a fixed length text file. Employers that have more than 50 active members and do not have technical support to convert their payroll data into the text format may contact PERA staff at or option #2 to discuss submitting their data via Excel. Chapter 9 Computer File Formats Last chapter 9 revision: July 9, 2018 Chapter Revisions Log 2. The Demographic Record format has a single record type that used to enroll new employees into a PERA plan or to update a member s retirement account status as employment changes, such as leaves of absence or terminations occur, or to report member s personal data changes, such as changes in name or address. 3. The Exclusion Report file is used to comply with the annual legal requirement of providing information about all employees including elected officials who worked during the reporting 9-1

2 year and were not members of a PERA Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution Plan or another Minnesota public retirement system. The Exclusion Report file can be a text file (.txt) with fixed length fields or an Excel file (.xlsx preferred, but.xls is acceptable). This section contains the technical information that is needed to prepare one or more data files for PERA. Formatting the data to align with PERA s requirements will ensure that the files can be processed efficiently into PERA s database. Questions about electronic reporting requirements may be directed to PERA s Employer Services Department at or or may be submitted through PERA s website to employer.reps@mnpera.org Testing Process PERA has a testing process that helps to ensure that employers can generate a computer file in the format established for PERA reporting. Employers are to participate in the testing process when any of the following changes occur: The agency wishes to move to electronic reporting as an alternative to using paper forms or entering data in an ERIS online report, The employer or its contracted payroll service provider is upgrading its software and the new application provides different capabilities that could impact PERA reporting; The employer is undertaking a computer system conversion (such as from a mainframe system to a client-server environment), or When PERA modifies its file format and requests test files be submitted for review and approval under the revised layout. Whenever possible, test files should contain live data extracted from existing systems. For the SDR and Demographic process, the testing will run alongside the normal reporting processes. In other words, employers continue to report contribution data through their current method while submitting a test file. For example, an employer that reports using the web SDR module must simultaneously complete the online SDR and an electronic test file. Employers should keep a copy of all PERA files in case there is a problem that prevents PERA from reading the electronic data. If you have never accessed PERA s Employer Reporting and Information System (ERIS) you must first create an account by registering online at and selecting the Online Access GO button. To get to the registration screen, click the ERIS button and then the Request Access link (in blue) that is below the log in box. 9-2

3 Enter your employer unit (6 digits without a dash) and your first and last name. After you select submit, you will need to enter your contact information. When you receive the message, Registration was Successful, close our site. A packet with the access form and information will be generated and mailed to you for return. When you are ready to send a test file, call PERA at or option #2 to report that you are sending a test file. Then log in to ERIS and select the Transmit File module. Next, click the link to access the screen that has been developed specifically for sending test files. Then, browse your system and select the specific file. Click the Submit button to send the file over PERA s secure internet line. Upon receipt of the test file, PERA will process the data to determine its acceptability and notify the employer of the outcome. Once approved, employers will the Transmit File module in ERIS to send their files electronically. When in production, do not use the test link to send your files. Instead, identify the type of file on the main Transmit File screen in ERIS. Those entities that have not been approved based on their initial test file must continue reporting in their current method until they submit a test file that passes PERA s requirements. The remainder of this chapter focuses on the details of PERA s file layouts. Contribution (SDR) File Layout Contribution or SDR data files that are created by employers must end with the extension of.sdr or the files will not be accepted by PERA s transfer application. Where possible, the files should be named as follows: PERAC000000mmddyyyy.sdr where: PERA = a constant agency identifier, C = is a constant indicator that this is a Contribution file, = is the unique six-digit employer ID assigned by PERA and mmddyyyy = is the paid date of the payroll period to which the transactions in the file applies. The text Contribution or SDR data file must contain three different record types (Report Header, Plan Summary, and Detail Transaction). Each of these record types must be identified with the appropriate type indicator. PERA s system reads contribution files sequentially; therefore, the data must be in the following order: 1. Report Header Record, 2. Plan Summary Record, and 3. Detail Transaction Records associated with the preceding Plan Summary Record. 9-3

4 Example A Order of Contribution Records Report Header Record Plan Summary Record (Coord.) Detail Transaction Record Detail Transaction Record Detail Transaction Record Detail Transaction Record Plan Summary Record (Coord.) Detail Transaction Record Detail Transaction Record Detail Transaction Record Detail Transaction Record Example B Order of Contribution Records for two Employers in a Single File Report Header Record (First employer) Plan Summary Record (Coord.) Detail Transaction Record Detail Transaction Record Plan Summary Record (P&F) Detail Transaction Record Report Header Record (Second employer) Plan Summary Record (Coord.) Detail Transaction Record Detail Transaction Record A Contribution File can be submitted for a single employer or for multiple entities. For each reporting employer, there must be one Header record. The Plan Summary and Detail Transaction record pattern must be repeated for each retirement plan being reported for the employer. Example A shows how a single employer would format data covering contributions for the Coordinated Plan and the Police and Fire Plan. As indicated, a single Contribution File may also contain data on employees of different employers Including multiple pay periods in a single file is commonly done by external payroll system providers serving multiple governmental employers. It is also done by employers that act as the fiscal agent for another entity. In these instances, PERA uses the presence of a second Header Record (after a Detail Transaction Record) to signal the beginning of the next employer report. (See example B.) A single Contribution File may also contain data from multiple pay cycles for a single employer as long as all of the data covers a single and identical paid date. For example, a single Contribution File may contain data from the bi-weekly pay period of 05/02/ /15/2014 and the semi-monthly pay period of 05/01/ /15/2014 when both pay periods had the same paid date, such as 05/25/2014. Employers that create and send contribution files to PERA are responsible for keeping a copy as a backup in case there is a problem that prevents PERA from reading the electronic data. PERA s system will perform various assessments of the salary, deductions, and coverage period data that are reported by employers in order to determine if the submitted information can be posted 9-4

5 to individual member accounts. When certain inconsistencies are found, the entire contribution file is held until a PERA staff member has been able to work with the reporting employer to resolve the discrepancies. Additional information on suspended data is found later in this section. Employers may view the status of a recent or past contribution file that has been transmitted to PERA by accessing the online SDR History window in the Employer Reporting and Information System (ERIS). PERA displays the status of all contribution files that have been received in the last two years. Access to ERIS is available at www. mnpera.org OnLine Access. Contribution File Header The first record in the Contribution File must be the Header Record, which has a length of 200. This record provides information that identifies the employer entity that is making the PERA contributions for a single specified paid date. Additionally, it summarizes the total contributions and number of plans included. Employers must submit one Contribution Header Record for each group of jointly submitted plan summary and member detail records. Employers can report only one paid date per Report Header Record. The following table contains the record format for a Contribution File Header Record. The final column in the table provides definitions, instructions, and additional information to help guide you in the preparation of this file. CONTRIBUTION (SDR) FILE - REPORT HEADER RECORD R Record Transaction R Employer Number Numeric 30 Must be 30 Numeric thru The unique employer identifier that has been assigned by PERA. The first four digits represent the main PERA-assigned ID number and last two digits are the suffix code. 9-5

6 CONTRIBUTION (SDR) FILE - REPORT HEADER RECORD R Paid Date Numeric YYYYMMDD (4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day) R Increase / Decrease R Contribution Total R Number of Plan Summary Records + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimals Numeric Right justify Fill with leading zeroes Date the employee compensation was paid by the employer (also referred to as the check date. Employers can report only one paid date per Contribution File. Indicates whether the Contribution Total is a positive (+) or a negative (-) amount. Net total of all employer and member amounts reported. The contribution total, plus any included invoices or credit memos, must equal the payment that is sent. must have two decimal positions with an implied decimal point. Example: $5, would appear as in this field. Number of plan summary records associated with the SDR Header record. The number reported must match the number of plan summary records submitted R Filler Pad with blanks Unused - Reserved for future expansion Plan Summary Record The following table contains the record format for the summary record reported with contribution transactions. Summary data is reported on a per plan basis; therefore, employers will populate one plan summary record for each reported plan. The transaction code for use with this record format is

7 CONTRIBUTION (SDR) FILE - PLAN SUMMARY RECORD R Transaction Code R Employer Number Numeric 31 Numeric thru R Plan ID Numeric 01 = Basic 02 = Coordinated 03 = Police and Fire (includes consolidated local plans) 07 = Privatization 11 = Correctional 14 = DCP Ambulance 15 = DCP Physician 16 = DCP Elected Official 17 = DCP City Manager 99 = Exempt Re-employed PERA Benefit Recipient (a person drawing a monthly retirement or disability benefit) R Increase / Decrease + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Transaction code for plan summary record. One per plan. The unique identification number assigned by PERA where the first four digits represent the main PERA-assigned ID number and last two digits are the suffix code. PERA will use the Plan ID to determine the applicable contribution rates and perform validations of the salary, deductions, and employer contributions reported for the coverage and paid dates. Indicates whether the Plan Total is a positive or negative amount. A negative cannot be reported for any of the DCP accounts. 9-7

8 CONTRIBUTION (SDR) FILE - PLAN SUMMARY RECORD R Plan Total Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal R Increase / Decrease R Member Total R Increase / Decrease R Employer Total + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal Net total of the employee deductions and employer contributions for each plan. This amount must equal the sum of these fields for the reported plan: Member Total, Employer Total, and Additional Total. must have two decimal positions with implied decimal point ($3, would appear as ). Indicates whether the Member Total is a positive or negative amount. DCP Plans cannot have a negative Member Total. Net total of the Member contribution amounts. This amount must equal the sum of all Member Amounts reported in the Detail Transactions Record for this plan. must have two decimal positions with implied decimal point. Example: $3, would appear as Indicates whether the Employer Total is a positive (+) or a negative (-) amount. DCP Plans cannot have a negative Employer Total. Net total of the Employer contribution amount. This amount must equal the sum of the Employer Contributions reported in the Detail Transactions Record for this plan For the coordinated plan this should equal the match amount must have two decimal positions with implied decimal point. 9-8

9 CONTRIBUTION (SDR) FILE - PLAN SUMMARY RECORD R Increase / Decrease R Employer Additional Total R Number of Detail Records + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal Numeric Right justify Fill with leading zeroes Indicates whether the Additional Total is a positive (+) or a negative (-) amount. DCP Plans cannot have a negative Additional Total. Net total of the Employer Additional contribution amount. must have two decimal positions with implied decimal point. Number of detail records associated with summary record R Pad with blanks Unused - Reserved for future expansion Detail Contribution Transactions The table below contains the record format for reporting contribution detail transactions. The transaction code this record is 38. DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD R Transaction Code R Employer Number 38 Transaction code. One per transaction line. Numeric to The unique identifier number as assigned by PERA where the first four digits represent the main PERA-assigned ID number and last two digits are the suffix code. 9-9

10 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD R Plan ID Numeric 01 = Basic 02 = Coordinated 03 = Police and Fire (includes consolidated local plans) 07 = Privatization 11 = Correctional 14 = DCP Ambulance 15 = DCP Physician 16 = DCP Elected Official 17 = DCP City Manager 99 = Exempt Re-employed PERA Benefit Recipient (a person drawing a monthly retirement or disability benefit) R Social Security Number Numeric Values other than or No embedded dashes PERA will use the Plan ID to determine the applicable contribution rates and perform validations of the salary, deductions, and employer contributions reported for the coverage and paid dates. Must be the valid Social Security Number for the named employee as shown on the person s Social Security card. PERA s record must reflect that this SSN covers a person who has an active employment status under the applicable Employer and Plan ID. If the member is not reported under the Employer and Plan ID, the transaction will be held until the employer enrolls the employee. 9-10

11 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD R Employee Last R Employee First O Employee Middle Initial O Title After R Payroll Coverage Start Date Must reflect the last name of the employee. Omit space, hyphen, or apostrophe. May be upper or lower case as preferred by the employer. Must reflect the first name of the employee. May be upper or lower case as preferred by the employer. Alphabet letter without punctuation. May be upper or lower case. Suffix to member s name such as Jr Sr III or MD No punctuation Numeric YYYYMMDD (4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day) Employee s last name as maintained in the employer s records. If the employee has changed his/her name, the submission of this record will not change PERA s records. Changes in name must be reported through a Demographic Record, the ERIS system, or a paper Member Information Change form. Employee s first name as maintained in the employer s records. If the employee has changed his/her name, the submission of this record will not change PERA s records. Changes in name must be reported through a Demographic Record, the ERIS system, or a paper Member Information Change form. Employee s middle initial as maintained in the employer s records. Must reflect the member s name as maintained in the employer s records. Do not use this field for titles such as Miss, Mr. or Mrs. Beginning date of payroll period to which the Detail Transaction Record applies. Only one earnings period can be entered on each line. If more than one earnings period must be reported for a member, use additional lines for each earning period. The coverage period 9-11

12 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD (Coverage Start Date through Coverage End Date) must represent the dates in which the member earned the reported salary R Payroll End Date Numeric YYYYMMDD (4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day) Note: If reporting an adjustment (Adjustment Indicator = A), the Coverage Start date must match the date reported on the original transaction to PERA. Ending date of payroll period to which the Detail Transaction Record applies. Only one earnings period can be entered on a line. Use additional lines to report salary for more than one earnings period. Coverage End Date cannot be less than Coverage Start Date and must be at least 5 days after the reported Coverage Start Date. The coverage period (Coverage Start Date through Coverage End Date) must represent the dates in which the member earned the reported salary R Pay Numeric 01 = Regular activity 02 = Lump sum payments of unused, Note: If reporting an adjustment (Adjustment Indicator = A), the Coverage End date must match the date reported on the original transaction to PERA. PERA uses established pay types to determine how to allocate reported salaries and award service credit to members. 9-12

13 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD accrued compensatory time 04 = Grievance pay 05 = Lump sum payments that have a retroactive earnings period 06 = Omitted Deduction from earnings of member 01 is used to report that a member earned salary for regular activity (includes overtime and paid days off) during the current pay period. Determine the contribution amounts due on regular pay using the plan rate in effect on the date the pay is paid. 02 is used to report lump-sum payments of unused, accrued compensatory time, holiday time, etc., which meet PERA s definition of salary and cover a retroactive earnings period. Determine the contribution amounts due on pay coded as 02, using the contribution rate in effect on the date the amounts are paid even if the total compensation period falls into more than one contribution rate period. 04 is used to report lump-sum grievance pay that represents lost wages awarded under court order, wrongful discharge settlements, or other types of settlement agreements. The coverage period must be the dates in which no salary had been reported for the member. When determining the contribution amounts due on grievance pay, always use the contribution rate in effect on the date the salary 9-13

14 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD 9-14 was earned. PERA staff must validate that all grievance pay meets the legal definition of salary by reviewing a copy of the applicable written agreement. Use Code 05 to report retroactive amounts that meet PERA s definition of salary. Examples include pay increases awarded through union negotiations that cover past pay periods, annual payments for longevity pay, and certain types of performance bonus pay. For pay classified under this code, report the coverage dates the pay was earned. It is preferred that you use a separate transaction line to identify each earning period to which the pay is to be applied by PERA. Alternatively, at a minimum, identify the overall period to which the full payment applies. For example use 01/01/XX -12/31/XX) to indicate pay earned over a calendar year. When determining the contribution amounts due on retroactive pay, always use the contribution rate in effect on the date the retroactive pay is paid even if the earnings period falls into more than one contribution rate period. Code 06 is for omitted deductions covering a period of 60 days or less. You may pay

15 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD omitted deductions through a Detail Contribution record only if you have not received an invoice from PERA for the amounts due. Coverage dates must reflect the entire omitted deduction period. This transaction is to be separate from a transaction that covers any regular pay period earnings for the member. When determining omitted employee contributions use the contribution rate in effect on the date the salary was paid. Employers reporting adjustments electronically must: R Adjustment Indicator A = Adjustment O = Not an adjustment Insert an A in this field and Insert the amount of the adjustment in the PERA Eligible Earnings field or the Member Amount field or into both fields if applicable. Adjustments can only be made to Defined Benefit Plans. They cannot be made to any of the Defined Contribution Plans. Please refer to Reporting an Adjustment later in this chapter and the Adjustment section of the Contribution Reporting Chapter 7. Indicates whether the Member Amount is a positive or negative amount. To report a negative (-) Member Contribution Amount, R Increase / Decrease + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative 9-15

16 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD R Member Amount R Increase / Decrease Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative the Adjustment Indicator must be A or the detail member transaction will be held for further review and correction. DCP Plans cannot have a negative Member Amount. This must reflect the deduction amount withheld from the member s salary. It must equal the reported PERA-Eligible Earnings times the contribution rate in effect for the specified pay period for the applicable plan. No member deduction amount may be reported under the Plan covering Exempt Benefit Recipients (Plan ID 99). If the Member Amount differs from our system-calculated deduction using reported eligible earnings and plan rate, the transaction will receive an error status, and PERA will issue an invoice or a credit memo to the employer as appropriate. The reporting of a member deduction amount must be consistent with the person s employment status. To report a negative (-) PERA Eligible Earnings, the Adjustment Indicator must be A or the negative amount will error out. DCP Plans cannot have a negative PERA Eligible Earnings. 9-16

17 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD R PERA Eligible Earnings R Increase/ Decrease Employer Amount R Employer Amount R School Fiscal Year Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimals Salary earned that is subject to PERA deductions for the reported period. Note: PERA-deductible earnings are not identical to Social Security-deductible earnings for state or federal taxable compensation. For a list of salary that is and is not PERA-eligible, refer to Eligible Earnings Chapter 5. + = Increase/positive Indicates whether the Employer Amount reported in positions is a positive or negative amount. Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal Numeric Valid values are either 0000 (zeros) or YYYY (4-digit year) Employer contribution amount made on behalf of the member. The amount should be pulled from your payroll system to include the employer portion being remitted for the member. For the Coordinated and Basic plan, this must be the total of the employer match and the employer additional. This field is used to identify school district employees who are being paid summer payouts for hours that were actually worked during the 9-month school term but for which the pay is being spread into the months of June, July, and August. The year to report in this field is the school fiscal year in the regular pay you are reporting in positions was actually earned by the member. Adding the School 9-17

18 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD Fiscal Year will cause PERA to prorate the eligible earnings reported for the member over each of the calendar months during which the pay was earned. School districts must always zero-fill for school employees who work all year-round, such as payroll clerks, maintenance workers, etc. For 9- or 10-month employees always zero-fill this field during non-summer months (Typically Sept. through May). Employers that are not school districts are to always zero fill this field R Filler Pad with blanks Unused - Reserved for future expansion O Increase / Decrease Compensated Hours O Compensated Hours + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal Indicates whether the Compensated hours reported in positions is a positive or negative amount. Do not complete for DCP members. For non-dcp members, this is the number of hours for which an employee receives compensation during the period being reported. must have two decimal positions with implied decimal point. 9-18

19 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD Example: The Compensated hours for an employee who works 57 ¼ hours in a coverage period is to be reported as This will be understood by PERA to be 57 hours and 15 minutes O Increase / Decrease Overtime Pay R Overtime Pay + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal Employers choosing to provide this data should provide compensated hours for an employee on all salary with Pay of 01, 02, 03, 04, or 06. Indicates whether the Overtime pay earnings reported in positions is a positive or negative amount. This field must be completed when the value in positions is any number other than zero (0). You do not need to complete for DCP members or for reemployed retirees being reported under the Exempt Plan. This is the portion of the PERA-eligible earnings reported for the member in positions that your agency considers to be overtime. Do not complete for DCP members or for reemployed retirees under the Exempt Plan R Filler Pad with blanks Unused - Reserved for future expansion 9-19

20 Reporting an Adjustment in a Contribution File If you need to increase or decrease the salary or contributions for a past reporting period, you can submit an adjustment transaction for that same reporting period. Although you may do so, you do not need to create a separate file simply to report an adjustment. The adjustment of a prior period may be included in any Contribution file, regardless of the paid date of the payroll in which you place the adjustment transaction. For example, let s say that you are preparing the normal payroll data for PERA covering the paid date of 08/31/2014 and you want to adjust past salary for a specific member that was earned from 5/01/2014 5/31/2014 and paid on 05/31/2014. In this situation, you may add data to the Contribution file being built for the regular August pay period and include the single member adjustment to modify the May 2014 salary or contribution. The Paid Date associated with a Contribution file does not need to reflect the paid date of the original transaction you are adjusting. The table below will help you properly complete the fields within the 200-character Member Detail Contribution Transaction Record that are specific to adjustments. DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD FOR AN ADJUSTMENT TRANSACTION R Transaction Code R Employer Number Numeric 38 Numeric thru R Plan ID Numeric 01 = Basic 02 = Coordinated 03 = Police and Fire (includes consolidated local plans) 07 = Privatization 11 = Correctional 14 = DCP Ambulance Transaction code for the SDR header summary record. A unique identifier assigned by PERA where the first four digits represent the main PERA-assigned ID number and last two digits are the suffix code. PERA will use the Plan ID to determine the applicable contribution rates and perform validations of the salary, deductions, and employer contributions reported for the coverage and paid dates. 9-20

21 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD FOR AN ADJUSTMENT TRANSACTION R Social Security Number 15 = DCP Physician 16 = DCP Elected Official 17 = DCP City Manager 99 = Exempt Re-employed PERA Benefit Recipient (either disabilitant or retiree) Numeric Values other than or No embedded dashes Must be the valid Social Security Number (SSN) for the employee as shown on the person s Social Security card. PERA s record must reflect that this SSN covers a person who has an active employment status under the applicable Employer and Plan ID. If the member is not reported under the Employer and Plan ID, the transaction will be held until the employer enrolls the employee Pad the fields in these positions with blanks as they are not to be completed for an adjustment R Payroll Coverage Start Date YYYYMMDD (4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day) Beginning date of payroll period to which the Detail Transaction Record applies. Only one earnings period can be entered on each line. If more than one earnings period must be reported for a member, use additional lines for each earning period. The coverage period (Coverage Start Date through Coverage End Date) must represent the dates in which the member earned the reported salary. 9-21

22 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD FOR AN ADJUSTMENT TRANSACTION Note: If reporting an adjustment (Adjustment Indicator = A), the Coverage Start date must match the date reported on the original transaction to PERA. Ending date of payroll period to which the Detail Transaction Record applies. Only one earnings period can be entered on a line. Use additional lines to report salary for more than one earnings period. Coverage End Date cannot be less than Coverage Start Date and must be at least 5 days after the reported Coverage Start Date. The coverage period (Coverage Start Date through Coverage End Date) must represent the dates in which the member earned the reported salary R Payroll End Date Ending date of reported pay period YYYYMMDD (4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day) R Pay Numeric 01 = Regular activity 02 = Lump sum payments of unused, accrued compensatory time 04 = Grievance pay 05= Lump sum payments that have a retroactive earnings period Note: If reporting an adjustment (Adjustment Indicator = A), the Coverage End date must match the date reported on the original transaction to PERA. 9-22

23 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD FOR AN ADJUSTMENT TRANSACTION R Adjustment Indicator R Increase / Decrease R Member Amount R Increase / Decrease R PERA Eligible Earnings A = Adjustment O = Not an adjustment + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimal + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeros and no decimals Insert an A in this field to indicate that this is an adjustment to a previously submitted transaction. (Note: all other transaction records will contain an O here to indicate they are original transactions, not adjustments.) Insert Member Amount to be adjusted. Example of a Negative Member Amount Adjustment: If the original Member Amount was reported to PERA as $40 and should have been reported as $35, you must populate this field with a minus sign to indicate that you are subtracting from the original member amount. Report the amount of the adjustment only. For example, if the original Earnings Amount was reported to PERA as $ and should have been reported as $736.84, insert as the Eligible Earnings for this adjustment transaction. (Note: You would leave this field blank if you do not need to alter the original member eligible earnings. For example, if you correctly reported a member s earnings but made a mistake when you reported the contribution amount 9-23

24 DETAIL CONTRIBUTION TRANSACTION RECORD FOR AN ADJUSTMENT TRANSACTION O Increase / Decrease Overtime Pay R Overtime Pay + = Increase/positive - = Decrease/negative Numeric to Include leading zeroes and no decimals R Filler Pad with blanks associated with those earnings, you should not insert any data in this field.) Indicates whether the Overtime pay amount in positions is positive or negative. This field must be completed when the value in positions is any number other than zero (0). You do not need to complete for DCP members or for reemployed retirees being reported under the Exempt Plan. This is the portion of the PERA-eligible earnings reported for the member in positions that your agency considers to be overtime. Do not complete for DCP members or for reemployed retirees under the Exempt Plan. Contribution Edits Contribution transactions are checked for mathematical accuracy and are compared against data stored in the PERA database. When amounts do not balance, the entire file is suspended from the posting process and PERA will contact the payroll contact of the employer to resolve the discrepancies. Suspended contribution files can prevent PERA from issuing lump-sum refund checks to members or result in the underpayment or overpayment of benefits at the start of a member s retirement. Listed on the following pages are validation edits that have been built into PERA s systems. For each edit, you will find tips on how to avoid having the contribution data suspended. Like you, our goal is to have the contribution reporting process run efficiently at all times so that we are able to provide better information and service to your employees. 9-24

25 Edit: Duplicate file has been received A contribution file cannot be processed when it is identical to a file previously received from the reporting employer. A file is believed to be a duplicate file when it contains transactions that have the same six-digit Employer ID, Member SSN, Plan ID, Pay Period Coverage Dates, Earnings, and Member Deduction Amounts as a file that has already been received and processed by PERA. To prevent a duplicate file error, send a single file to PERA only once. If you are unsure of whether or not you have successfully transmitted a contribution file to PERA, use the SDR History window in ERIS to view a list of files received and processed by PERA. School districts should make sure that their summer payoff coverage periods are not identical. If a school district submits all of its summer payoff contribution files to PERA at one time, the files must have different pay period coverage dates in them. For example, if sending two files that cover identical summer payoffs made to employees on June 16, 20XX, have a different starting date for the payroll periods. In this example, you might supply payroll coverage dates of 09/01/20XX through 05/31/20XX in one file and 09/02/20XX through 05/31/20XX in the second file. Be sure, however, that both files identify that this is summer payoff pay using the School Fiscal Year field in positions By doing so, the salary amounts will be prorated over each of the calendar months during which it was earned (September through May in this example). Edit: Member s Social Security Number is not in PERA s database PERA cannot post an incoming deduction for an employee when the SSN in the contribution file does not match data in PERA s member database. To prevent this issue, please complete the member enrollment process before or on the same day that you send a contribution file to PERA that contains a deduction for the new member. Additionally, please verify that the SSN you provide in the enrollment process is the same as the SSN in your electronic contribution file. Edit: Contribution received after the member has terminated service To be valid, a member deduction must cover a period in which the employee is actively working. PERA uses the employee SSN, Employer ID, Plan ID, member s employment status, and the begin pay period coverage date to determine if it is valid to receive a member deduction. Remember, coverage dates must represent the period in which the compensation was earned, not paid. PERA has built controls in its system to review any member deduction amount for a coverage period beginning after the effective date of the member s termination or death. To prevent contributions from being suspended always report correct coverage dates that reflect the period in which compensation was earned. Also, only take deductions on PERA-eligible salary. Remember, not all forms of pay are subject to PERA withholding. Lastly, in situations in which the employee terminated service and was immediately re-employed in another department within your agency, complete the member enrollment process at once to update the person s employment status from terminated to new. Edit: Member is not enrolled under the reporting employer & plan PERA will post a deduction to a member account only when that member has an active employment status in PERA s database for the reported Employer Number and Plan ID. 9-25

26 To avoid having records suspended due to this edit, be sure to complete the member enrollment process before or on the same day that you send a contribution file that contains a deduction for the new member. Edit: Member deduction is not mathematically correct Every member deduction must be mathematically correct. A deduction amount must equal the reported PERA-Eligible Earnings for a member multiplied by the applicable plan rate. Please take steps to ensure that you are reporting salary and deduction amounts correctly. You can check this yourself by dividing Demographic File Layout The Demographic File format has a single record type that used to enroll new employees into a PERA plan or to update a member s retirement account status as employment changes, such as leaves of absence or terminations occur, or to report member s personal data changes, such as changes in name or address. Demographic files created by employers must end with the extension of.sdr or the files will not be accepted by PERA s transfer application. Where possible, the files should be named as follows: PERAD000000mmddyyyy.sdr where: PERA = a constant agency identifier, D = is a constant indicator that this is a Demographic file, = is the unique six-digit employer ID assigned by PERA and mmddyyyy = is the date in which the file was created. the deduction amount by the earnings to determine if it results in the proper plan rate percentage. Also, use the correct contribution rate for the retirement plan under which the member participates. When new contribution rates are established, Minnesota Statutes dictate that the change be made based on paid date, not based on when pay was earned. Lastly, do not increase an employee s earnings for a pay period as a way to correct insufficient earnings you reported in a previous pay period. When you need to correct earnings or deductions for a previous pay period, you must send a separate adjustment transaction. Employers that create and send computer files to PERA are responsible for keeping a copy as a backup in case there is a problem that prevents PERA from reading the electronic data. As explained earlier in this chapter, employers that have not used the Demographic File previously to enroll its new members or to update the employment status of members must first submit a test file to PERA through ERIS. To submit a test file, log on to ERIS and select Transmit File. Click the blue link labeled Transmit Test File and verify that SDR or Demographic File is selected. Once your file is successfully transmitted, you will receive a Transmit ID Number. A PERA staff member should contact you with the results of your test file within a few days of having received the file. 9-26

27 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total Required (R) or R Transaction Code R Employer Number Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record Transaction Code for reporting demographic data Unique identifier for employer R Plan ID Unique identifier for plan R Social Security Number Member Social Security Number 42 Processed as reported, if valid; rejected if invalid. Numeric 01 = Basic 02 = Coordinated 03 = Police and Fire 11 = Correctional 14 = DCP Ambulance 15 = DCP Physician 16 = DCP Elected Official 17 = DCP City Manager 99 = Exempt Re-employed PERA Benefit Recipient (either disabilitant or retiree) Numeric to ; is not acceptable Employer Number must exist in system (assigned by PERA) and employer must be eligible to participate in reported plans. If reporting a name change or an employment status change other than N, the associated member must have an active employment record for the reported Employer Number. The CAMI system will check the validity of certain plans reported for employees. For example, employees reported under the Exempt Plan of 99 will be valid only if PERA s system indicates that the individual is receiving a retirement or disability benefit. Report a valid SSN that matches the number shown on the employee s Social Security card 9-27

28 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total 9-28 Required (R) or R Last Member s last name R First Member s first name Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record An SSN reported with all zeroes will result in the transaction receiving an error status and may result in a refund to the employer. If member is not active for the plan and employer reported, the member must be enrolled in the plan before PERA will receive contributions on the member s behalf. Members are enrolled through the enrollment process, separate from the contribution reporting process. Text field Text field Must reflect the member name as maintained on the records of the employer. PERA will not update a member s record to reflect a new name unless the employer reports the change in name in this Demographic Record. A name reported in the Detail Contribution Transaction Record will not initiate a name change. If reporting a name change, the member must have an active employment record for the reported Employer Number and Plan ID for PERA to change its records. Must reflect the member name as maintained on the records of the employer. PERA will not update a member s record to reflect a new name unless the employer reports the change in name in this Demographic Record. A name reported in

29 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total Required (R) or R Middle Initial R Title Following R ONLY if enrolling employee; otherwise leave blank Most Recent Hire Date Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record the Detail Contribution Transaction Record will not initiate a name change. If reporting a name change, the member must have an active employment record for the Employer Number and Plan ID. Member s middle initial Suffixes to member s name such as Jr., Sr., III, etc. Date employee is to begin work in the current position held. Text field Text field Date field CCYYMMDD Must reflect the member name as maintained on the employer s records. Must reflect the member name as maintained on the employer s records. Do not include punctuation (.) For new employees, this is the original hire date; for employees who worked for you previously, this must be the most recent rehire date (not original hire date). PERA compares the Hire Date reported to the Eligibility date if reported and the Demographic Record will be suspended when the Hire Date is after (greater than) the Eligibility Date. For members reported with only a the Hire Date must fall within the pay coverage dates of the member s first deduction as reported in the Detail Contribution Transaction Record 9-29

30 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total Required (R) or R ONLY if enrolling an employee; otherwise leave blank R for certain enrollments (see rules) Eligibility Date Exclusion Code Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record Date individual became eligible for PERA membership Code reflecting reason why individual was not eligible immediately upon hire Date field CCYYMMDD Numeric This is the date an employee becomes eligible for PERA coverage. This will be the same as the Hire date if the employee is eligible for membership immediately. If eligibility occurs sometime after a person is hired, the person s Hire and Eligibility dates will be different (Eligibility date will be later than Hire Date.) Eligibility date must be reported if it is different from the Hire Date Eligibility Date cannot be less than Hire Date Eligibility Date must fall within the pay period dates of the member s first deduction as reported in the Detail Contribution Transaction Record An exclusion code must be reported when enrolling a member that has an eligibility date that is more than 30 days after the Hire Date. Valid codes are as follows: 001 = Full-time student under the age of = TRA annuitants who have resumed teaching service 003 = Receiving PERA retirement or disability benefit 004 = Foreign citizen (not applicable for Hennepin county as of 7/1/02) 9-30

31 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total Required (R) or Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record 005 = Federal service exclusion 006 = Degree or residency program 007 = Student internship 008 = Patient and inmate personnel 010 = Pension coverage prohibited under the associated federal or state grant 011= Persons with supported employment or work-study positions 012 = Trades workers excluded in PERA law 101 = Persons hired to temporary positions limited to 6 months or less 102 = Emergency employee 103 = Part-time teaching service 104 = Paid on-call/volunteer ambulance personnel not in the DCP 105 = Election officials (judges) 106 = Persons hired to fill seasonal positions limited to 185 consecutive calendar days 108 = Volunteer or paid on-call firefighters who are members of a firefighter relief association 201 = Governing or non-governing body elected officials, city managers or administrative officers who have not chosen to join any PERA plan (DCP or DBP) 301 = Earnings always less than $425 a month (Effective 1/1/2015, this code is not valid for new hires.) 9-31

32 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total Required (R) or R ONLY when reporting an employment status change or enrolling an employee; Otherwise leave blank Member Employment Status Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record Code reflecting status of member 1, pad with blank 2, available values: T = Terminated C = Death L = Layoff (temporary) I = Layoff (indefinite) W = Workers Compensation K = Maternity / Paternity Leave M = Medical leave P = Personal leave X = Military leave 302 = Annual earnings stipulated to not exceed $3800 for a school year employee. (This exclusion becomes valid on 1/1/2015 for new hires or for employees who had previously been excluded based on their monthly earnings. 303 = Annual earnings stipulated to not exceed $5100 (This exclusion becomes valid on 1/1/2015 for new hires or for employees who had previously been excluded based on their monthly earnings.) 401 = Holds two positions one with earnings under $425 a month and one that is temporary or seasonal. (Effective 1/1/2015, this code is not valid for new hires.) Employment information reported with status codes is used to determine a member s eligibility for benefits and is used in conjunction with reported salary to determine allowable service credits. Complete this field only when you want to report a change in a member s employment, such as when an employee becomes eligible for membership, when an employee goes on a leave, or when an employee terminates employment. 9-32

33 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total Required (R) or R ONLY when reporting a status change or enrolling an employee R ONLY if enrolling an employee Member Employment Status Effective Date Code Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record Date status became effective Code reflecting member s position A = Return from a leave of absence or layoff N = Enroll new or rehired employee Date field CCYYMMDD Available values: ADMN = Administrator OTHR = Other CTMG = City Manager CROF = Correctional Officer, Guard, Joint Jailer/Dispatcher or equivalent position; Protection officer with Hennepin Medical Ctr ELOF = Elected Official FRFT = Fire Fighter PERA disregards any Member Employment Status Code that appears here if the Member Employment Status Effective Date is blank. Do not send the same Member Employment Status change more than once as those submitted after the original one will error and require further research by PERA staff. An effective date must accompany a Member Employment Status that is reported; PERA disregards any date that appears here if the Member Employment Status Code is blank. A Member Employment Status Effective Date cannot be less than Hire Date or any previously reported status changes This must be included whenever you are enrolling a member into a plan. 9-33

34 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total 9-34 Required (R) or R ONLY if enrolling an employee Class Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record Code reflecting member s position classification O Job Title Member s position title O Birth Last R if enrolling an employee R if enrolling an employee or changing a member s date of birth R if enrolling an employee Date of Birth O Address - Attn. Member s birth last name, if applicable Sex Member s date of birth Person to whose attention correspondence must be sent PLOF = Police Officer PRMD = Paramedic MDPH = Medical Physician Available values: FT - Full-time IO = Intermittent /On call OT = Other PT = Part-time SL = Seasonal Text field Text field F = Female M = Male Date field CCYYMMDD Text field This must be included whenever you are enrolling a member into a plan. This must be included whenever you are enrolling a member into a plan. This must be included whenever you are enrolling a member into a plan or when you need to correct the date of birth recorded in PERA s CAMI system.

35 DEMOGRAPHIC RECORD Columns Total Required (R) or R if enrolling an employee or changing an employee s address Description Available Values Rules and Information Relating to s in the Demographic Record Address 1 Address line 1 Text field This must be included whenever you are enrolling a member into a plan or when you need to correct the address data recorded in PERA s CAMI system. Once you have reported a member s address, do not repeat the data in subsequent files you send to PERA. No punctuation should be included O Address 2 Address line 2 Text field R if enrolling an employee or changing an employee s address R if enrolling an employee or changing an employee s address R if enrolling an employee or changing an employee s address City City Text field This must be included whenever you are enrolling a member into a plan or when changing a member s address. No punctuation should be included State State 2-digit state code Zip Code Five-digit zip code O Zip + Four Plus four code for fivedigit zip code Numeric to Dash implied Numeric 0000 to 9999 Zero-fill if unknown Required Filler Filler Pad with blanks This must be included whenever you are enrolling a member into a plan or when changing an employee s address. This must be included whenever you are enrolling a member into a plan or changing an employee s address. 9-35

36 Exclusion Report File PERA Employers with internet and capabilities are required to submit their annual Exclusion Report to PERA using ERIS. For school districts, the exclusion report covers employment from July 1 through June 30 and is due by Aug. 31. All other employers submit reports based on the calendar year of January 1 through December 31, with reports due by February 28 of the following year. More details about the Exclusion Report can be found in Defined Benefit Plans Chapter 3 of the Employer Manual. The Exclusion Report file is used to comply with the annual legal requirement of providing information about all employees including elected officials who worked for your agency during the reporting year and were not members of a PERA Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution Plan or another Minnesota public retirement system. Employers may transmit a fixed-length text file (.txt) or an Excel file (.xlsx preferred; xls is accepted). Each employer is directly responsible for sending its Exclusion Report to PERA. Before a text or Excel file can be transmitted through ERIS, the file is opened to validate that the employer number in the file is the same as the employer number for the person who is remitting the report. If the two employer numbers do not match, that ERIS user will not be able to send the file to PERA. Employers that create and send computer files to PERA are responsible for keeping a copy as a backup in case there is a problem that prevents PERA from reading the electronic data. As explained earlier, employers that have not remitted exclusion data to PERA in a data file must first submit a test file to PERA through ERIS to ensure that it meets the file format specifications. To submit a test file, log on to ERIS and select Transmit File. Click the blue link labeled Transmit Test File and select Exclusion Reporting File. Once your file is successfully transmitted, you will receive a Transmit ID Number. A PERA staff member should contact you with the results of your test file within a few days of having received the file. 9-36

37 Exclusion Report Excel Format The next table shows the Exclusion Report format for preparing an Excel file. The available values and requirements are as defined in the text file format with one exception, which is that the data reported as Annual Salary and Last Pay Period Salary must be formatted with the decimal point included. EXCLUSION REPORT RECORD Excel Format (.xlsx preferred /.xls accepted) Follow values and business rules as defined in the Text File Format below **EXCEPT: Annual Salary and Last Pay Period Salary fields must include the decimal point A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O Trans Code Employer Number Year Exclusion Code SSN LN FN MI Original Hire Date Last Hire Date Status at Year End Annual Salary Amount Last Paid in the Year Note: When creating the spreadsheet, be sure to ensure that numbers in B, D, and E include any leading zeroes. For example, if you enter 003 in Cell D, the first two zeroes must be visible (003 not 3). You can do this by formatting the cells as Text or Custom, not Number. Pay Cycle Job Title The next image is an example of a properly formatted Excel file for Exclusion Reporting. 9-37